[revised 05/10/2024]
Scottish National Table Tennis League
Rules and Regulations
1. COMMITTEE
1.1 The League shall be managed by a committee approved by the Board of Table Tennis Scotland.
1.2 The committee shall consist of no fewer than 3 people and no more than 7 people to include a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Match Secretary and a representative from Table Tennis Scotland.
1.3 The committee shall have the power to make a decision regarding any question arising from these regulations and any matter concerning the conduct of the competition which is not specifically covered by these regulations.
2. ENTRY
2.1 Any club wishing to enter a team or teams in the Scottish National League must submit their entry form and fee no later than 1st September.
2.2 Players must be registered with Table Tennis Scotland by 1st December of each year.
2.3 Any player not registered by the due date will not be able to compete in the remaining fixtures of that season and will be deleted from the team’s ranking list.
2.4 No club will be permitted to compete in the Scottish National League until the appropriate fees have been received and the appropriate forms and been completed and approved by the committee.
3.
3.1 The number of teams in each division shall be no higher than 8 teams.
3.2 No club may have more than 2 teams in any division.
3.3 The league shall be completed over the rounds of fixtures as per the Table Tennis Scotland Calendar, preferably not more than 5 weeks apart.
4. LEAGUE PLACINGS
4.1 A team shall be awarded 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat.
4.2 Position in the league shall be determined by the number of league points won. If two or more teams are equal on League points, then their league placing will be decided by the individual matches won/lost. If teams are still tied, if still equal, the difference between games won & lost will be used to determine league position.
5. PROMOTION AND RELEGATION
5.1 At the end of the season, the highest two placed teams in each division, bar the top division, shall be promoted. The lowest two teams in each division, bar the bottom division, shall be relegated. All teams will be made aware of division-specific regulations before the start of each season. No more than two teams shall be relegated or promoted from any division of 8 or fewer teams.
5.2 If there are divisions with too many or too few teams, the committee is empowered to relegate or promote teams. However, no team shall have their promotion cancelled.
6. WITHDRAWAL FROM THE LEAGUE
6.1 If a club withdraws a team from the league before it has completed all of its fixtures, all of its previous results will be expunged. The club will also forfeit its team fee, which is paid at the start of the season.
7. STARTING TIME
7.1 The starting time for matches played under the Scottish National League format shall be decided by the committee. The committee Secretary shall notify the clubs in writing of such times.
8. PLAYING FORMAT
8.1 Each team shall consist of 3 players, male or female.
8.2 A team match will consist of 6 individual matches, each consisting of 5 games.
8.3 All individual matches shall be played, even if a team has already won enough matches to win the fixture.
8.4 No player shall be allowed to take part in more than one match played simultaneously in the same venue.
9. PLAYER RANKING
9.1 By a specified date in September, each team shall submit to the Committee Secretary a ranking listing of all its registered players in order of merit for approval by the committee. The committee, at its discretion, has the right to re-rank players.
9.2 The ranking list of each team shall remain unaltered throughout the duration of the season. However, a team may, at the start of the second half of the fixture list, apply to the committee for revision to the team’s ranking list no later than 14 days before the first fixture.
9.3 Except for the provision of 9.2, a ranking list may not be altered during the season except by the deletion of players who cease to be registered for the club and insertion of players newly registered for the club.
9.4 Where a club has more than one team competing in the Scottish National League:
(a) The top 3 players in a club’s ranking list shall only be eligible to compete in the highest team.
(b) The top 6 players in a clubs ranking list shall only be eligible to compete in the 1st and 2nd teams.
If a player is unavailable from their top team, players will shuffle up in ranking order so that the club’s best 3 players available play for their highest ranked team. This same format continues if a second or third team is short.
(c) When a round is played on different dates, no player may play on both dates
Penalties for having a player short – 1 point deducted & £30 fine
Penalties for having 2 players short- 2 points deduction & £60 fine.
10. FORFEITURE FOR LATENESS
10.1 If a team is not ready to play by 30 minutes after the scheduled starting time, it shall forfeit the match.
10.2 If a team is not ready to play by the scheduled starting time, it shall forfeit one individual match if it is not ready within 20 minutes of the scheduled starting time, two individual matches between 20 and 30 minutes and, thereafter, regulation 10.1 shall apply.
11. MATCH RESULTS
11.1 All completed match sheets are to be handed to the match referee or other designated official.
12. PRIZE MONEY
12.1 The committee shall issue details of the prize fund for the season no later than the 1st December of each year.
13. EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION
13.1 The club/team winning the highest division in the Scottish National League shall be eligible, subject to
